Storage cell, electrode therefor, and process of making the same



sept. 23. 1924. 1,509,186

R. C. BENNER ET AL STORAGE GELE, EEECTEODE THEEEEOR, MD PROCESS OE MAKING THE SAME Filed Aug, 16,

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E aYMoND c.- EENNEncEBAYsrDE, ANnHARnY E. rnENcn,V or ELUSEING, NEW Yonx, AssIeNonsroirnE vmaEsr-oLrrE COMPANY, iNo., A coaroEArroN or NEW YORK.

STORAGE CELL, EEECTEOIDEQTHEREFR, AND rnocEss or MAKING THEV SAME YAppncanen'ineaaugust 16,1922. -iseriai No. saaafia To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that we, RAYMOND-. `BEN-fV NER and HARRY F. FRENcH, citizens lof the United States, residing at", Bayside yand Flushing, respectivelyri n the ,county of Queens and State of New York, have'invented certainV new ,and u'setu-l Improvements in Storage Cell`s Electrodes'Therefor and Processes of Making; the Same', of

, whichthe followin isa specification, '-k This invention re ate's to supportsfor the active material of stora e cells, and has particular reference to t e manuii'acture of supports for this purpose comprising a lightweight non-metallic* body coated." with a metal. l Storage batteries in whichl the-battery plates or the likeare made ofl'ead far'e'nec-v essarily heavy, as the lead must be relatively thick to insure the :requisite mechanical strength. On account of their weight., leadplate batteries are objectionable for'certain uses, for example iii-portable electric-lighting devices'.YV We have discovered that-'the weight' of the battery may be materially. re`

duced Withoutl sacriicin any substantial advantages, by making t e active material support of a. lnon-metallic substance and -coating it with corrosion-resisting` metal of good conductivity, for example, lea`d,forA an alloy of lead and antimony. v

The non-metallic substance to be coated with. metal should be light,` strong, .and easil worked up into-the desired form. fy these requirements: wood, carboni-,or graphite, Celluloid, hard rubber," and phenolic condensation products are `among the suitable materials; Battery plates or grids made from any of these, when coated with metal as hereinafter described, are char-V acterized by satisfactory conductivity and Aby freedom from objectionable distortion during service.' Theconductivitysmay be varied according to the intended service of l the battery. Where a relatively high internal resistance is an advantage, as in batteries which are destined for intermittent connection to a low resistance work circuit, or in general where the storage cells are to replace dry cells, a non-conductive material will be used in the construction ot the plate or grid and the current will pass only through the metallic coating. It high connum er of `materials satis- Fig. 5 isa v ductivity is desired, graphite or other conductivecarbon may be used in the construction of the plate.

An important feature of our invention is the application of the lead coating by means of spraying the molten metal upon the plate.` We have found thatthisA method is muchjsuperior to electrical deposition. The sprayedv coating, unlike that Jformed by electroplatin", is characterized by a rough surface vWhic facilitates the adherence of the active material. Also the sprayed metal will adhere directly to a non-conductive support, and the step of applying a conductive substance topermitthe electro-deposition of thelinetal is eliminated. The metal may be applied Qby the well-known Schoop processor by any other spraying method accom- -plishing'like results. The plates are preflerablyf carried by a conveyor and inter osed vfor air-proper interval in the path o metal spray. The'simplicity of this prothe ceduremakes it lwell adapted for large scale production of battery plates.'

The invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawing, in

which Fig. 1 'is afront velevation of a metalcoatedribbedl wooden grid,

Fig. 2'is la vertical section on line 'II-II,

Fig. 1, 4 y

ig'. 3-is a front elevation of a non-conducting support adapted to carry both posi- -tive and negative active materlals,

4Fi 4 Ais' a. horizontal section on line IV-f V, Fig. 3, i

ertical section on line V-V,

6 is a vfront elevation of a storage cell in which the container `carries the active material; and i Fig. 7-is a vertical transverse section on line 7 7, Fig. 6. 1 Referring to' Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, 'reference numeral 1` denotes la `Wooden battery plate provided with ribs 2. A metallic coating 3, preferably of lead or leadantimony alloy, covers the plate 1. The coatingwill usually be co-extensive with the plate surace,-and substantially imperviousto electrolyte, rendering special treatment, of the'wood unnecessary. In some cases, however, it may be desirable to impregnate the wood with substances such as paraffin or celluloid, to render it non-absorptive and acid resistant. A lead strip 4 is pressed upon the lug 5y forming part of plate 1, and a connector may be secured to the strip by burning or in any other suitable ltive and negative active materials are packed into the grooves 7 and 8, respectively,'and conductor strips 10 and 1l are in electrical connection with the lead coating, as shown in Fig. 5. Cells`provided with composite electrodes of this kind have` `an internal resistance approximating that of dry primary cells and are particularlyv p adapted for. use inflashlights of thetubular type commonly operated by such primary cells.

Referring to Figs.\6 and 7, 12 and 12' indicate the telescopinghalves oit' a box-like cell casing,vp1eferably made of Celluloid. The casing is coated internally on opposed sides with lead 13, referably applied by spraying as above ascribed. 'lhe active materials 14; and 15 are pasted upon the lead coated sides. The elimination of separate active material supporting plates, by the construction described, results 1n a material decrease in weight of the cell, without impairing its servicecapacity. An absorbent material 16 charged with electrolyte occupies the space between the active materials. f a proper absorbent material `is used, it will be unnecessary to provide separators or other means `for retaining the active material in position. W'e preler for the absorbent a composition of glass wool and wood pulp, as described in the application of R. C. Benner, Serial No. 552,834, filed April 15, 1922. A vent 17 and conductor strips 18 and 19, in contact with the lead coating, are provided.

The casing 12, 12', may be formed with corrugations or other surface irregularities to receive and hold the active material. Also, as an alternative to applying a lead coating, `lead foil or the like may be secured in the bottom of each casing section.

Cells made up with active material supports prepared according to the present invention give a greater number of watt-hours per gram than do cells of the lead plate type. This resultmay be accompanied also by an increase in the number of watt-hours per cubic centimeter of cell volume. Our improved cells are therefore especially suited for use under conditions where small size and light weight are desirable characteristics.

We are aware that it has been proposed to electroplate non-conductive supports adapted to receive active material. Our invention, in distinction to this, resides in the application of metal spraying processes in the preparation of battery plates or the like of any desired form, and in certain advantageous features of cell construction. Various moditications of the specific ormsof the invention shown may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim 1. Process of preparing a support for the active material'ont storage cells, comprising subjecting a non-metallic body toa spray of metal in condition to adhere to the body, and removing the body when a metallic coating of the desired character has been formed.

2. Process of preparing a support for the active material of storage cells, comprising subjecting a wooden structure to a spray of lead in condition to adhere to the structure, and removing the .structure when a lead coating obtained.

Process' of preparing a composite electrode for storage batteries, comprising forming a metallic coating on' separate parts of a non-conductive support, and applying positive and negative active material to such separate metal-coated parts.

4. A storage cell comprising a casing of of the desired character liasfbeen non-conductive material, a coating of metal j-'gf adherent to the inner surface oi' opposed walls of said casing and activematerial in contact with said metal.

. `5. A storage cell comprising two members telescoped to form a box-like casing, a coating of lead adherent to the inner surface of the bottom oi' each of said members, active materials of opposite polarity in contact with the lead coatings, and an electrolyte absorbent lling the space between said active materials.

In testimony whereof, we aliix our signatures.

RAYMOND C. BENNER. HARRY F. FRENCH. 

